The fourth edition of Fintech Forward 2026 is set to take place next Wednesday and Thursday at Exhibition World Bahrain under the theme ‘Finance in the Age of Intelligent Infrastructure’.
Hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), programmed by the Forbes Middle East, and supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), Tamkeen, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), and Bahrain FinTech Bay, the two-day event will explore how technology, infrastructure, and regulation are transforming the financial landscape.
The forum will bring together global thought leaders, policymakers, investors, and technology experts to discuss artificial intelligence applications in finance, payments, stablecoins, asset tokenisation, open banking, digital identity, fraud prevention, SME finance, digital wealth management, InsurTech, and regulatory innovation.
More than 40 regional and international speakers will address the conference, including Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Sustainable Development Minister and Bahrain EDB chief executive Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, and CBB Governor Khalid Humaidan.
Other high-profile speakers include VIAI chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Saeed Al Nahyan, NBB Group chief executive Usman Ahmed, AI expert and former Google X chief business officer Mo Gawdat, Syz Group chief economist Dr Reto Cueni, VISA regional country manager Ali Bailloun, WalletConnect chief executive Jess Houlgrave, and former France international footballer turned entrepreneur Louis Saha.
In addition to keynotes and panel discussions, the forum will feature an exhibition with 20 partner entities from financial services, fintech, technology, and government showcasing solutions driving the future of finance. The event highlights Bahrain’s growing status as a regional financial and technology hub. The financial services sector remains the kingdom’s largest non-oil sector, contributing 17.6 per cent to real gross domestic product (GDP).
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